Concealable trailer hitch



Jan. 6, 1953 cf A. STRAND 2,624,539

CONCEALABLE TRAILER HITCH Filed Dec. 11, 1950 Fig.

Charles A. Strand IN VEN TOR.

BY WWW MM,

Patented Jan. 6, 1953 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE CONCEALABLE TRAILER HITCH Charles A. Strand, Duluth, Minn.

Application December 11, 1950, Serial No. 200,243

1 Claim.

The present invention relates to new and useful improvements in trailer hitches and more particularly to a, hitch adapted for attaching inside the trunk of an automobile.

An' important object of the invention is to provide a hitch which is concealed in the automobile trunk, when not in use.

Another object is to provide a device of this character of simple and practical construction, which is strong and durable, relatively inexpensive to manufacture and otherwise well adapted for the purposes for which the same is intended.

Other objects and advantages reside in the details of construction and operation as more fully hereinafter described and claimed, reference being had the the accompanying drawings forming part hereof, wherein like numerals refer to like parts throughout, and in which:

Figure 1 is a fragmentary sectional view of an automobile trunk showing a top plan view of the hitch therein;

Figure 2 is a transverse sectional view taken on a line 2-2 of Figure 1;

Figure 3 is a longitudinal sectional view taken on a line 33 of Figure 1;

Figure 4 is a view similar to Figure 1 and showing the hitch in concealed position in the trunk; and

Figure 5 is a perspective view, on a reduced scale of the reversible hitch bar.

Referring now to the drawing in detail, wherein for the purpose of illustration I have disclosed a preferred embodiment of my invention, the numeral 5 designates a hitch attaching member and which comprises an elongated rectangular shaped housing 6 having flanges l at each side for attaching to the floor 8 of an automobile trunk 9 by means of bolts and nuts ID or the like.

Each end of housing 6 is open and the rear end of the housing is alined with an opening ll cut in the rear of the trunk.

A hitch bar [2 is adapted for placing in either end of housing 6 by sliding the bar therein and a vertical opening [3 is formed in the bar nearer one end thereof to provide a short end [4 and a long end 15. Opening I3 is adapted to aline with upper and lower openings l6 and 11 in housing 6 to receive a locking pin l8 having a head l9 recessed in the top opening l6 and which is relatively larger to accommodate the head. The upper end of opening I3 is provided with a counter-sink Na in registry with opening [6 and the head IQ of pin 18 is positioned in the counter-sink so that shearing stress will be applied to the head of the pin rather than to the shank thereof. A leaf spring 20 is fixed at one end to the top of the housing 6 with its free end overlying head l9 to hold the locking pin in position.

The longer end i5 015 bar 12 projects rearwardly through opening 13 in trunk 9 and a ball 20' having a stem 2| is threaded in an opening 22 in the outwardly projecting end of the bar and is adapted for attaching to a companion part on a trailer (not shown).

In the operation of the device, the locking pin I8 is easily removed by releasing spring 20 so that bar I2 may be inserted in either end of housing 6 and locked by the pin and with the longer end I5 of the bar projecting either rearwardly through opening II in the trunk or projecting forwardly at the front end of housing 6 into the trunk. With the bar projecting rearwardly, as shown in Figures 1 and 3 a trailer may be attached to ball 20 and when the bar is reversed. as shown in Figure 4, the longer end 15 of the bar with the ball 20 is enclosed in the trunk to conceal the hitch therein and the opening H in the trunk is closed by the short end 14 which is flush with the opening.

In view of the foregoing description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings it is believed that a clear understanding of the construction, operation and advantages of the device will be quite apparent to those skilled in this art. A more detailed description is accordingly deemed unnecessary.

It is to be understood, however, that even though there is herein shown and described a preferred embodiment of the invention the same is susceptible to certain changes fully compre hended by the spirit of the invention as herein described and the scope of the appended claim.

Having described the invention, what is claimed as new is:

A trailer hitch comprising in combination, a vehicle trunk having an opening, an elongated housing open at each end, means securing the housing in the trunk with one end of the housin alined with the opening in the trunk, a bar having a hitch member at one end and reversibly received in either end of the housing to selectively position the hitch member either outwardly or inwardly of the trunk, and a headed lock ing pin passing through both the housing and the bar to lock the bar in either position in the housing, said housing including an upper wall having an opening in which the head of the pin is received and said bar having a counter-sink in registry with the opening in said upper wall and also receiving the head of the pin so that shearing stress will be applied to the head of the pm.

CHARLES A. STRAND.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,066,816 Hess July 8, 1913 2,425,838 Schultz Aug. 19, 1947 

